I'll pose an alternate scenario to the one Wendy proposes when she says, in the previous post, that she thinks "those who have fewer balance issues before surgery are the ones who have major balance problems after surgery because their brains can't adapt quickly enough to the sudden loss" and that "if you have more dizzyness, ... etc. before surgery, the fewer balance issues you will have after surgery." I think it depends -- as so many things seem to -- on the location of the AN.
I have wracked my brain trying to recall any instance of dizziness, unsteadiness, vertigo, etc. that I may have experienced in the years prior to my AN diagnosis, and I can't come up with anything ... nor can my family. My only AN symptom was hearing loss. Further, I experienced absolutely no dizziness, etc. following my surgery (a translab procedure) -- either in the recovery room or later. I met with the physical therapist the morning after I was released to my hospital room from ICU. We spent about 15 minutes walking the halls and doing several exercises in my room and in the hallway. He said, "you don't need me," and told me to continue increasing my amount of walking and return to my regular exercise program when I felt up to it.
I'm not particularly athletic -- I've always exercised and walked a good bit and participated in dog agility (the competition in which dogs run an obstacle course) for about four years several years ago, but have never run nor played tennis, etc. I've assumed that my AN steadily and slowly affected my balance, just as it did my hearing, over a course of years ... and my brain and non-AN side vestibular nerve had ample time to adjust ... and I never even noticed.
I'm also assuming that this must happen at least fairly often -- none of my doctors nor the therapist gave me the impression that my lack of dizziness and unsteadiness was remotely unusual. I'm thinking that a lot of patients who don't experience balance or vision issues simply aren't posting on this forum.
Catherine (JerseyGirl2)
